


Day Fifty-Nine || Renaissance Woman

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [59]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 11:25:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: Before meeting the Avatar, Hinata never would have guessed how important a role she would come to play in the rebuilding of her lands, and the reintegration of her captured people. But she's here now...and they aren't the only ones she needs to help move forward.





	Day Fifty-Nine || Renaissance Woman

As hard as her journey with the Avatar was...the last few years have honestly felt even harder for Hinata. The resurgence of waterbenders back into the South - the  _ waterbending renaissance _ , as many have taken to calling it - hasn’t been as simple as releasing the Fire Nation prisoners and taking them home.

For many...there’s no home to return  _ to _ . Entire villages have been wiped off the map, families torn apart, lineages destroyed. Add in the trauma those who have survived have been left with, and the transition isn’t easy.

At the beginning, many Northern benders come South to aid their cousins. Something akin to a refugee camp is established along the closest harbor to the Fire Nation. There, all imprisoned benders are brought, families flocking from all over the southern ice fields to reunite with their kin. To Hinata’s heartbreak...only a fraction are claimed. Many - far too many - are left behind without any word from family. 

They remain, and are given proper counsel. Old wounds are seen to, minds put at ease, and the group as a whole is brought up to speed on everything that’s happened since they were stolen away to the Fire Nation.

The work is long, and hard. Hinata toils each day from morning to night, even as the seasons shift and the poles are left either in stretching darkness, or days-long light. As exhausting as it is - as somber - she chooses to find hope in it. They’re alive. Broken...but alive. Hope remains for the South’s bending population. Many are old, but their knowledge is just as valuable as their bloodlines.

Bending schools are established - marriages seem to crop up everywhere. In a matter of years, the population begins to climb anew. And as they find balance in themselves, the benders slowly reintegrate.

Slowly...things get back to a new kind of normal. The scars won’t fade from those who bear them, and the memories - Hinata will make sure - are not forgotten. The sacrifices her people made will not be in vain...and they will be learned from.

Perhaps it’s her connection to the Avatar. Perhaps it’s her tireless work with the returned benders. And just maybe, it’s both. But Hinata is quickly elevated - despite her young age by the time the bulk of the work is done - to a matriarch. Her judgment and decisions are brought to the forefront: a leader to help guide the rebuilding South.

And though Hinata would have shied from such a burden and honor before her journey...she relishes in it now. At seventeen, she begins to her first steps to reshaping the South into something greater.

It’s tireless work...and in many regards, a bit thankless. But it’s necessary. And she’d rather do nothing else. Her mother gave her life to protect her - to protect a sliver of waterbending in their homeland. She wouldn’t mock that sacrifice with inaction. Not now.

Of course, the other nations too are hard at work. Naruto and Sakura attend mostly to the Earth Kingdom. And in the Fire Nation, both Uchiha brothers work to make amends...and help their land grow past their mistakes, and strive for a better, more peaceful future.

And eventually, Hinata gets a visit.

The other waterbender - kidnapped from the South to keep the ill elder prince alive - insists on seeing the efforts once they can be spared. The three make their way to the south, and Hinata gets to meet her for the first time.

They get along in what seems to be only a heartbeat.

Hinata tours them through the city that began as the chaotic camp to bring the stolen benders to. Though not as grand as anything in the North, it’s still become the largest settlement in the South. Many of those without family stay here still, and others have gathered from the smaller, fractured villages to band their people and resources together. The healer takes in all the sights eagerly, and can’t help but rejoice when finding that her people, too - unbeknownst to her - made the trek to the new city as well.

“...I can’t begin to say how impressed I am with your work, Hinata,” Itachi offers as his healer goes to reunite with her people. Alongside his somber smile, a few tears escape as he watches her cry in relief. “...and I can’t say what this means. To everyone, but...also to her.”

“It hasn’t been easy,” Hinata agrees softly. “But we’re making good progress.”

“Beyond good. What you’ve accomplished here is incredible. I’m only sorry I could only get away now to see it. What a marvel it must have been to watch this grow…”

“We’ve come a long way.”

To one side, Sasuke watches in silence, and Hinata can’t help a startle at his expression. Unlike his brother, who looks on with hope...she sees only grief in his gaze. And once Itachi moves to join the healer, she approaches quietly. “...Sasuke…?”

“...I’m a horrible person, Hinata.”

She jolts. “...w-what -?”

“I was the one who took her. I...I did this.”

He’s already admitted to this before, but...well, it’s clear that seeing the aftermath has him shaken all over again. Hinata looks to the tribe sadly before glancing back to the prince. “...you did what you had to. Itachi would have  _ died _ without a waterbending healer. Think of how the war would have changed without him. How  _ you _ would have -”

“No...I, I know that. I know she was necessary, but -” He cuts off, head bowing under a weight she can’t see. “...I threatened her. Threatened  _ them _ . Told her I would...I would kill them all if she resisted. I tore her from her village…! I put her in bonds, in a cell, on a foreign vessel. Dragged her to a land she knew nothing of. And I...Hinata, I treated her so poorly…”

...she’s not sure what to say.

“...I was so angry then. So conflicted. And I…” His expression tightens into a grimace. “...I took that out on her. I had  _ no right _ . I really...thought she was beneath me. A means to an end. A tool to be used, to keep him alive. And now...look at him. Look at  _ them _ .”

Hinata doesn’t need to be told. The remnants of the other bender’s village all weep at her return, as she does. And Itachi joins them...lowering to his knees to bow and beg their forgiveness. She tries to haul him back up before kneeling beside him, embracing him.

...it brings a strange feeling to Hinata’s chest. Even as the others all do the same, forming a chain of love, strength, and forgiveness.

“...I don’t know if I’ll ever deserve that. To be forgiven.”

“Sasuke…! Look at all you did to help turn the war around! It doesn’t change your past...but it gives you a chance at a better future. You’re alive. We all are. Moping around in our pasts and our pain won’t help us. Learning from them, and doing better,  _ will _ .”

He doesn’t look convinced, gaze dropping to one side.

“... _ I _ forgive you.”

“...right now...you’re not the one I need forgiveness from. And I can’t accept it.” A pause. “...not yet.”

“...well, someday you will. Besides,” Hinata adds, giving a small, wry smile as she watches the older pair. “...something tells me you won’t be rid of her quite yet.”

He glances back up, watching his brother and the healer speak. It’s already been made obvious. “...guess you’re right.”

“...I think they’re going to be here a while. Why don’t you and I keep looking around?”

“...I don’t know if I can.”

“Well, you should. You say you want forgiveness? You can start by making yourself see what’s come of your land’s efforts. And you can help make it better. Okay?” Stubbornly, Hinata holds out a hand.

Sasuke’s gaze snaps to it, something unreadable in his expression. A long moment of silence and stillness passes...before he takes it. “...you’re right. Time I see this  _ renaissance _ for myself. And I guess that makes you the renaissance woman.”

“Just one of many. Doing my part.”

“...then I guess I will too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Whoo, another AtLA piece! Fitting, given that I started marathoning LoK for like...the fifth time today, ahaha~ I really REALLY love crossing these verses. Which I say every time, but...it's true!
> 
> Hinata grows a lot on her journey with Naruto and the gang...but it doesn't stop there. There's a LOT of work to be done in the South Pole, but she's nothing if not determined. Yes, Sasuke was part of their pain...but she knows he can also help be part of their future.
> 
> And hers ;3c She just doesn't know it yet!
> 
> Anywho, that's all for tonight~ Still getting over this blasted sore throat / cold combo I've had for like...over a week. But! Either way, thanks for reading!


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